The Poison Eaters and Other Stories

School Library Journal Gr 9 Up?This collection of 12 short stories is sure to satisfy readers who crave something magical. Black's got all the supernatural bases covered: vampires, fairies, an elf, a unicorn, wolves, the devil, and a spell-wielding high school Latin club. Included is a tale of a boy tempted to eat a flower that he's read can turn him into a werewolf, as well as a story set in a world where vampirism is like an infectious disease and a girl resists the urge for blood by numbing her desire with alcohol. All but two of the stories have appeared elsewhere, including in Deborah Noyes's The Restless Dead (Candlewick) and David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft's 21 Proms (Scholastic, both 2007). Although they are often centered on bleak, dark characters, the pieces inspire hope, are touching and delightful, and even turn the most ghoulish characters into feeling beings. Some sexual situations and mature settings make this a collection for older teens.?Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA